Running bond is the most common brick pattern, where every course is laid as stretchers, bricks on their long side, offset by half a brick from the course above and below it.
That half-brick offset is what makes running bond strong: it staggers the vertical head joints so no single line of mortar runs straight up through multiple courses, which would create a weak seam. It's the standard pattern for brick veneer because it's fast to lay and, since veneer isn't carrying structural load the way solid masonry does, it doesn't need header courses tying wythes together. Nearly every modern brick home you see uses running bond somewhere on the facade.
Matching running bond sounds simple, but the offset, joint width, and brick size all have to line up or a repaired section stands out against the original wall. On older homes around Hillsville and Galax where the brick was hand-struck or slightly irregular in size, getting the bond and joint spacing to read correctly next to decades-old brick takes more care than laying a fresh wall from scratch. We match the bond pattern before we ever touch mortar color.
More masonry vocabulary from the glossary.
The services where this term comes up.
Chelo's Brick & Stone serves Hillsville, Galax, Wytheville, Fancy Gap, and Independence, VA. Call for a straight answer and a free on-site estimate.
